In September 1960, OPEC is founded, The Flintstones premieres on ABC, and the first-ever televised presidential debate takes place between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. And there was much at the cinema, too, but the big story was Psycho.
Psycho was a bit of a gamble for director-producer Alfred Hitchcock, who insisted on making it, even when his parent studio Paramount balked. But Hitchcock loved a challenge, and making a commercial film out of a particularly nasty horror novel like Robert Bloch's was certainly one of his biggest. Ultimately, he filmed on the Universal lot, using the quick-acting crew from his then-popular television program, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, waving his usual fee in exchange for 60% stake, and financing much of it himself; Paramount would only have to distribute. He broke all the rules: the heroine was a criminal, the most sympathetic character is a serial killer, a toilet flushes on screen...he even broke the rules of exhibition, instilling a policy where, for fear of spoilers, no one was admitted into the cinema once the film had begun (at a time when people would wander freely once they bought a ticket - it's where the phrase, "This is where we came in," originated from).
The film was, as you must know, a massive hit, which made Hitchcock's "deal" with Paramount a sound financial decision on his part. The sets used for the film are still on display and visited by thousands of tourists daily at Universal Studios Hollywood's Backlot Tour. Bernard Herrmann's iconic score and the shower scene it accompanies are recognizable even by people who've never seen the film, so often have they been referenced and parodied. But the original still entices, and there are retro screenings (like the one I attended back in 2000) all year round, all over the world . There are even action figures and computer games, three sequels and one remake, and a surprisingly well-received television adaptation. Psycho is its own economy, and it all started here, in September 1960 - among these films:
High Time
release: September
nominations: Best Original Song ("The Second Time Around")
dir: Blake Edwards
pr: Charles Brackett
scr: Tom Waldman and Frank Waldman, from a story by Garson Kanin
cin: Ellsworth Fredericks
Wealthy mogul Bing Crosby goes to college against his kids' wishes to get the education he missed and gets a crash course in modern youth! Henry Mancini has a blast with the music, editing effects have a blast with transitions, and it's a gas to see Der Bingle mix it up with Tuesday Weld (who falls for a different boy each term, with personality to match), Richard Beymer (constantly shirtless, thank you), Fabian, and Patrick Adiarte (playing a college student one year before playing an adolescent in Flower Drum Song). It is a slight comedy, zero conflict, mostly just hanging out and having a few laughs, a genre that Crosby excelled in. Doing this three-year marathon of films from 1944, 1945, and 1960 has taught me what I like, and I guess I like my Crosby silly, with no pretensions, spiritual or otherwise: this may be the most I've liked him outside the Road movies.
The Brides of Dracula
release: September 5
dir: Terence Fisher
pr: Anthony Hinds
scr: Jimmy Sangster & Peter Bryan & Edward Percy, from characters created by Bram Stoker
cin: Jack Asher
"Dracula" used more culturally than literally here, with Van Helsing going up against a different undead nobleman targeting sexy women in vaguely Eastern Europe. Peter Cushing as action hero, complete with hand-to-hand combat, cuaterizing his own wounds, and rescuing damsels (but no romance, please). Martita Hunt as the saddest devoted mother you've ever seen. It's a fun installment, worth watching not just for Cushing's performance - he's so good, a testament to his dedication as a performer - but for the various neckties he sports. Seriously, the teams behind the makeup and the costumes did the damn work, and Van Helsing's sartorial taste is enviable.
Let's Make Love
release: September 8
nominations: Best Musical Score (Lionel Newman / Earle Hagen)
dir: George Cukor
pr: Jerry Wald
scr: Norman Krasna, additional material by Hal Kanter
cin: Daniel L. Fapp
A spin on 1945's Earl Carroll Vanities: billionaire Yves Montand learns he's the subject of a satirical off-Broadway revue and goes undercover to become part of the cast - romancing Marilyn Monroe while he's at it. Some good jokes as Montand hires real stars to educate him in comedy (Milton Berle), dance (Gene Kelly), and song (Bing!). Some good songs. It's not a very interesting movie.
Psycho
release: September 8
nominations: Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Janet Leigh), Best Cinematography - Black-and-White, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration - Black-and-White (Joseph Hurley / Robert Clatworthy / George Milo)
dir/pr: Alfred Hitchcock
scr: Joseph Stefano, from the novel by Robert Bloch
cin: John L. Russell
I've given you some history and trivia, but what do I actually think of the movie itself? Come on, man, this is a masterpiece, crafted superbly to get us in the mindset of both predator and prey, to always have us on the side of "wrong" doers - thieving Marion, murderous Norman - so that we're rooting for their escape, party to their sins, co-conspirators in their cover-ups. Thus the meticulousness, the time spent tracking every step of Marion's trip bringing her to the Bates Motel, ceding that POV to Norman so that we see and, perhaps, root for, every step of the cleanup, every subsequent near-miss (do we not feel for small, stuttering Norman when faced with hunky, bullying John Gavin, even though Gavin's character is morally in the right?). It admittedly slows down in the second half, when Vera Miles and the aforementioned Gavin become our leads - they're not as compelling as Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins, their shoe-leather amateur gumshoeing dull compared to the excitement of stealing money and going on the run, their blank suburban worry no match for a stunted motelier's isolated anguish. And, yes, it still shocks and scares: I'm good with a shower, but stairwells in the dark still give me pause.
Carry On Nurse
release: September 16
dir: Gerald Thomas
pr: Peter Rogers
scr: Norman Hudis, from the play Ring for Catty by Patrick Cargill and Jack Beale
cin: Reginald H. Wyer
The team that took on National Service in Carry On Sergeant now takes on the workers and patrons of the National Health Service. This one gets a big star in Wilfrid Hyde-White, as a VIP with a private room who refuses to stop gambling, smoking, or any of his other bad habits. One bit sees the patients getting schnockered and deciding to perform a long-delayed surgery by themselves. Joan Hickson is the Sister in charge of the floor. Great fun.
All the Fine Young Cannibals
release: September 22
dir: Michael Anderson
pr: Pandro S. Berman
scr: Robert Thom, from the novel The Bixby Girls by Rosamond Marshall
cin: William H. Daniels
The old story: rural teen sweethearts love passionately, are divided by life, meet up again decades later. The lovers are Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner, the latter getting a big plotline where he's a jazz musician, loosely based on Chet Baker. Pearl Bailey is another soul singer who guides Wagner, she's moving, incredible, it should be their movie. Good performances, even looks good, but unfortunately, it barely rises above "OK" - imitation Sirk.
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
release: September 28
nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Shirley Knight)
dir: Delbert Mann
pr: Michael Garrison
scr: Harret Frank Jr. & Irving Raveth, from the play by William Inge
cin: Harry Stradling, Sr.
A traveling salesman and his wife find themselves at a crossroads when his business suffers and she hears rumors about him seeing another woman. This is the fourth William Inge work I've seen, and I'm wondering if maybe his work just doesn't adapt well to the screen (I say this fully knowing that Splendor in the Grass was written for the cinema, but I dislike that movie)? Oscar winner, Pulitzer Prize recipient, two-time Tony Award nominee...but except for the film adaptation of Bus Stop, an expansion of his play, I've yet to connect with his work. The Dark at the Top of the Stairs is no exception, starting with that title, imbuing simple imagery with profound readings and implications and anxieties just from the phrasing. Well, I hate the pretension of that title, I think Robert Preston is miscast (or no - maybe I mean he misjudges how he's playing it), I think the bizarre cadence of everyone's line readings makes them sound like classroom recitation, and I still find Inge's thoughts about American sexual neuroses to be...uninteresting. Angela Lansbury raises everyone's game; her scenes are an addition by the screenwriters.
Sunrise at Campobello
release: September 29
nominations: Best Actress (Greer Garson), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration - Color (Edward Carrere / George James Hopkins), Best Costume Design - Color (Marjorie Best), Best Sound (George Groves)
dir: Vincent J. Donehue
pr/scr: Dore Schary, from his play
cin: Russell Harlan
The story of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's road to recovery after being struck with polio. They play it smart, setting this as a story about a family first and foremost, the patriarch just happens to become President of the United States later on. And because it's about family, we get the squabbles and tensions, yes, the arguments with visiting mother (she disapproves of politics, better to go into philanthropy), the worries and responsibilities shared with wife Eleanor (and we see how she becomes a respected orator in her husband's absence), and the effect on the children - but also the games played, the in-jokes, the traditions, the warmth of a close-knit family, sharing all troubles and triumphs. It's a humanizing film whose main affect - and intent - is to leave you in awe of Roosevelt: he's just like us but also he's gone through so much, what a guy! Director Donehue does well with the performances and is a mostly unobtrusive presence otherwise, and I can't help feeling that it's a little more staid than it should be. Ending is pretty perfect, though, got to give 'em that.
Tomorrow: Kubrick, Kurosawa, and the directorial debut of John Wayne.
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